Can tester feed mechanism



July 8, 1952 E. LAXO CAN TESTER FEED MECHANISM 2 SHEETS--SHEET 1 FiledAug. 1, 1947 INVENTOR. f0 14x0 BY J yaw/1 159mm Wrap/v06 July 8, 1952 E.LAXO CAN TESTER FEED MECHANISM 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Filed Aug. 1, 1947Patented July 8, 1952 poration of Delaware Application August; 1947,serial No. 765,486

The" present invention relates" to can testers, and more particularly tomechanisms for feeding cans-onto the can carrier wheel of the tester.

In the gravity feed of cans into the pockets of the tester, carrierwheel, the considerable weight of" all cans in solid array in theinclined feed chute is,relied upon to bear against the leading can'andforce-it into a tester pocket at the proper time. The loadon the leadingcan is so'great as to tend to distort it, buckling the flanges andbreaking open the side-seam. Moreover, reliance'upon gravity forplacing'the cans successively into the pockets results in an unevenfeed-with a consequent tendency for the cans to be bent and damaged.

Accordingly, ;it'-is an object of the present in 5 Claims. 7 (01. 198.26)

speedf Radial pins l9 on the effect a ;positive driving connectionwiththe chain. i

As the wheel 12" rotates cans C are fed by; 1

gravity f'rom'the feed chute I0 into the successive pockets, beingcarried around the wheel for almost 360degree's and then projected intoa discharge chute 28.; During its travelwith the wheel between the feedand discharge ,ch utes I0, 2G, :each'canC is clamped in a pocket ll,

' compressed air is fed into the can, suchvair feed vention toovercomethe aforenoted disadvantages by providing a mechanismwhich feedseachleading can in the-feed-chute uniformly into a carrier wheel pocket.0 V

'Anothenobject of the invention is to relieve the leading can inthe feedchute of'a'can tester of the gravitational load of the followingcansinthe feed chute prior to the placing of the leading-can in thetester carrier wheel pocket.

One form which the invention may assumeis exemplified in the'followingdescription and illustrated byway of'example in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is'a partial front elevation of tester.

Fig. Z- is a side" elevation of part of the tester, parts being brokenaway to disclose, internal'features.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary'transverse section of the tester carrierwheeldrive mechanism,

a can Fig, i is a fragmentary view of the apparatus for feedingsuccessive foremostcans into succes-" sive pockets of the carrierwheel.

In'the form'of invention disclosed in the drawings, cans C "are led froma can feed chute Hi for successive feeding or disposition into the.circumferentially arranged pockets ll of a carrier wheel 12 suitablymounted'for rotation on the frame of'the machine. As specificallyillustrated,

the frame includes a base. portion l3 and spaced upright supports ['4 toand betweeniwhicha shaft .i5 is. secured, rotatably mounting the carrierwheel t2. Rotation of the wheel is effe'c'ted in any suitable manner,as, for example, by transmitting the motion ofl'a suitable electricmotor lfito, a driving sprocket I!- which is encompassed by a chain, 18encirclingfthe periphery of the carrier wheel'lljin order to effect africtionaldrive. Liofjthej carrier wheel at the proper rate of.

iscut ofi", and the can is thereafter communicated with a pressureresponsive detecting mechanism 2i which determines the leakagecondition, if any,

applications for Can Tester Drive Mechanism,

Serial No. 765,488, filed August 1, 1947'; Can Tester Valve Mechanism,Serial No. 765,484, filed August 1, 1947' and now Patent No. 2,482,677,granted September 20, 1949; CanTester Leak Detecting Mechanism, SerialNo. 765,485, filed August 1, 1947 and now Patent No. 2,551,020, Igranted Mayfll, 1951; and Can Tester Pocket Assembly, Serial No.765,483, filed August 1, 1947.

The can feeder intake chute I0 is ordinarily a continuation of a muchlonger chute leading from an overhead can conveyor and inclineddownwardlyto the tester at a rather steep pitch.

levelingoif at its point of connection to the feed "v chuteat'asubstantially lesser pitch or incline. Byvirtu e of the. incline ofthe can feedchute arrangement, the cansC are fed by gravity toward thecan pockets ll on. the carrier wheel.

The can feed chute 10 consists of opposed side members 22- havingbottomchannel-like fianges 23, whose groove 24 can receive the flanges of thecan bodies C as they roll down the chute. The lowerfportions of thechute sides are mounted upon, a supportingshaft 25 suitably secured tothe side members. M of the machine framathe chute being held at adesired angle of inclination by supporting legs 26 fixed to a shaft 27extending, through the lower portions of the feed chute sides- 22. Thelower ends: of the legslfi are mounted. upon a rod 28 secured to theside wheel may I also bracket 30 secured to a side frame I4 of thetester. A sprocket 3| is attached to one end of this shaft 29 andextends into the carrier wheel groove 32 so that its teeth engage theexterior of the chain I8 encompassing the carrier wheel,

in order that the shaft 29 will be rotated by the chain during therotation of the carrier wheel I2. A second sprocket 33 is secured to theshaft 23 on the other side of the. bracket 30 and engages the exteriorofa second chain 34 runnin around two spaced sprockets 35, 36, one ofwhich 35 is rotatably mounted 'on'a stud 31 suitably and adjustablysecuredto the frame of the machine, and-the other of which 36 is securedto a shaft 38 extending between and rotatably mounted in spaced bellcrank arms 39 pivotally mounted on the rod 28 passing through the lowerends of the chute supporting legs 26; These arms are adjustable-aboutthe rod by threaded rods 40 swivelly connected to the legs 26 and toother bell crank arms 4I extending outwardly of the rod 28.

A cam 42'issecured to the transverse shaft, and also a star wheel43,-t-he star wheel having arms 44 substantially in alignment withradial lobes 45 on the cam. In'the specific form illustrated in thedrawings, there are four cam lobes 45 disposed 90 degrees apart,and-also four arms 44 on the star wheel 43 disposed 90 degrees apart.

The cam 42' isengageable with a cam follower roller 46 rotatably mountedon an adjusting plate 41 received within a pad or channel 48 formedintermediately along the length of a can retarding lever or arm 49'pivotally'mounted upon a stud 50 fixed to one of the chute supportinglegs 26. The adjusting plate 41 is movable within the pad 48 radially ofthe cam 42 and held in adjusted position by a bolt 5I extending throughthe lever 49' and a longitudinal slot 52 in the plate, the bolt 5| beingtightened to clamp the plate 4'! in any position of adjustment. Theplate is adjusted inwardly when the mechanism is to feed larger cansfromthe feed chute III into the carrier wheel pockets I I, and ismovable outwardly for the purpose of feeding smaller cans into thepockets. Such adjusting movement is required in order to appropriatelyposition a retarding finger 53 adjustably bolted to the free,

inner end of the arm 49 and extending inwardly across the outlet end-ofthe feed chute I0. It will be apparent thatas the cam 42 rotates, thelever 49 is caused to move outwardly on its pivot 50;

and it must move outwardly to a greater extent to permit large cans topass from the chute I0 into the pockets than small cans, Conversely,when smaller -cans are being fed into the tester, the extent of movementof the retarding finger 53 must be closer to the bottom of the feedchute the cans to 4 the chute to feed large cans C into the wheel I2,and in the opposite direction to operate effectively upon smaller cans.

While the cam 42 moves the lever 49 and its retarding finger 53 upwardlyto permit cans C to pass out of the feed chute Ill, a spring 54, havingI one end attached to the chute supporting leg 26 andits other end to alug 55 secured to the rear of the lever 49, urges the lever toward thecam 42 to maintain its follower roller 46 in engagement with the camlobes 45 and to urge the retarding finger 53 downwardly toward thebottom of the feed chute. The extent of inward movement of the lever 49is limited by engagement of a screw 56 threaded through a boss 51 on thelever with a stationary member, such as the shaft 25 supporting the feedchute ID. This screw 56 can be held in various positions of adjustmentby clamping a lock nut 58 threaded thereon against the boss 51. The starwheel 43 is fixed on the shaft 38 and extends upwardly into thefeedchute In between its sides 22 so as to arrest the cans C in theirdownward travel through the feed chute. v

The cam 42 and star wheel 43 are rotated in accordance .with therotation of the carrier wheel I2. In the specific constructionillustrated, the cam and star wheel rotate degrees as the carrier wheelmoves the angular distance between adjacent pockets I I. The cans C arefed by gravity downthe feed chute I0 and are arrested by engagement ofthe leading can with the back face 44a of one of the star wheel arms 44.As the carrier wheel I2, cam 42 and star wheel 43 continue theirrotation, the cam follower roller 46 rides down a cam lobe 45 toward anadjacent low point on the cam, whichallows the spring 54 to shift theretarding finger 53 downwardly, this finger then sustaining the entireload of the cans in the chute I0 and preventing the cans from movingagainst the carrier wheel I2. As rotation continues, the leading can iscradled in the star wheel between its arms 43 and is fed toward a pocketII on the carrier wheel, the next succeeding cam lobe 45 then engagingthe follower 46 to elevate the retarding finger 53 from the path of thecradled can, Despite the elevation of such retarding finger, the rear440. of the trailing cradling arm holds back the following cans in thechute III, and the star wheel 43 feeds the leading can into a pocket I Iwithout such leading can being subject to the gravitational force of thebank of cans in the feed chute. The afore noted cycle of operation isrepeated for each can,

which is successively cradled in the star wheel 43, relieved from theload of the following cans, and then fed smoothly into. a carrier wheelpocket I I.

It is, accordingly, apparent that by virtue of the invention theforemost can body is not subbroken laps or crushing of the cans.Moreover, the fOllOWillg cans are caused to progress in a uniform mannertoward the star wheel, which then feeds them in exact timed relationwith the positioning of the pockets on the carrier wheel adjacent theforemost cans. Such uniform and equally timed movements minimize thedanger of deforming and damagingthe cans.

While I have shown: the preferred-form of my invention, it is to beunderstood that various those skilled in-the art without departing fromAs a consequence, cans can be the spirit 'of the invention as defined inthe appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed canbodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chutehaving a lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies; arotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of saidlower end and such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwartsaid path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute iscradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively therebywhile the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body; agate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a canbody from said feed member and chute by gravity; and means operable torotate said feed member and to open said gate in timed relation to saidfeed member.

2. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed canbodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chutehaving a lower end and defininga path of travel for can bodies, a rotaryfeed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower endand such that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said pathof travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in apair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while therearward of said pair of arms obstructs the nextcan body, a gate at thelower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can body fromsaid feed member and chute by gravity, means operable to rotate saidfeed member and to open said gate in timed relation to said feed member,and means for adjusting the position of said rotary feed memberrelatively to said chute to accommodate cans of different diameters.

3. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed canbodies to a can body testing wheel, comprising an inclined feed chutehaving a lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies, arotary feed member having radial arms and disposed inwardly of saidlower end and such" that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwartsaid path of travel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute iscradled in a pair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively therebywhile the rearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, agate at the lower end of "said chute operable to prevent egress of a canbody from said feed member and chute by gravity, means operable torotate said feed member and to open said gate in timed relation to saidfeed member, and means for adjusting the degree of opening of said gateto accommodate can bodies of different diameters.

4. A feeding device of the character described adapted to feed canbodies to a can body testing machine comprising an inclined chute havinga lower endand defining a path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feedmember having radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end andsuch that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart of said path oftravel whereby the bottommost canbody in said chute is cradled in a pairof arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while the rearwardof said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, a shaft on which therotary feed member is mounted,-means adjustably supporting the shaft formovement toward and away from the chute, a cam on the shaft, a gate atthe lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of a can bodyfrom said feed member and chute by gravity, an arm carrying the gate atone end thereof and pivoted adjacent the other end thereto said feedmember, and means for rotating said shaft.

1 5. A feeding device of the character described 7 adapted to feed canbodies to a can body testing machine comprising an inclined chute havinga lower end and defining a path of travel for can bodies, a rotary feedmember having .radial arms and disposed inwardly of said lower end andsuch that each of said arms, in succession, lies athwart said path oftravel whereby the bottommost can body in said chute is cradled in apair of arms and is fed forwardly and positively thereby while therearward of said pair of arms obstructs the next can body, a shaft onwhich the rotary feed member is mounted, means adjustably supporting theshaft for movement toward and away from the chute, 'a cam on the shaft,a gate at the lower end of said chute operable to prevent egress of acan body from said feed member and chute by gravity, an arm carrying thegate at one end thereof and pivoted adjacent the other end thereof, afollower carried by the arm intermediate the pivot point and the gateand engaging the cam so as to cause said gate to open in timed relationto said feed member and means including an adjustable drive for rotatingsaid shaft in its adjusted position.

ED LAXO;

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file ofthis patent: J

UNITED STATES PATENTS

